Brutus - Drive (3/4s)

Stand on the shoulders of giants, and if you have the chops, it’ll pay off. Brutus, who began by playing tracks from one of the best albums in modern history (The Shape of Punk to Come), have those chops. They’re comprised of members whose musical tastes run the gamut from the Weeknd to Slayer, and they somehow take these influences to melt them into one impactful single after another. “Drive (3/4s)” is one of those.

The searing, anthemic buzz saw guitars couple with a forceful rhythm section that reaches a fever-pitch fairly quickly. Vocally, you’re met with a striking clarity, surprising only because the tendency within the genre to distort and/or bury the vocals. So when you hear singer/drummer Stefanie Mannaerts say, “With my heart in my hands, I will never go back,” you feel something beyond the sound.

Written for someone a few years ago, “Drive (3/4s)” feels as fresh and honest as could be. It’s richly-layered post-punk with movements that stray in various directions at time before corralling themselves quickly in time for the chorus. Suppressing the urge to engage in visceral, primal urges of screaming, you really do get a special track here.

“Drive” comes from the band’s latest album Burst. It’s out and very worthy of a listen on the band’s website.